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Valve band Infamous captain and Elite Wolves

The ongoing story of Elite Wolves team members Freddy “SmAsH” Sina and Ricardo “mstco” Román and their recent ban from play in Valve events has taken another turn, with Archon’s David “Moo” Hull confirming publicly that Jesus “Ztok” Carhuaricra has just recently been informed of his ban.

Team Unknown eliminated Newbee at the Frankfurt Major, securing themselves a 9th-12th place finish and a place in Dota 2 history. The decision from Valve does not come lightly. Match fixing is a serious problem in esports, with offenders receiving some of the harshest punishments available.

I regret to inform you that Jesus "Ztok" Carhuaricra has been deemed "Ineligible" and Archon cannot play with him until further notice.

Ramón “Swadow” Beltran, owner of the Spanish Direct Esports studio and a source close to the teams, said Valve would likely make an announcement tomorrow regarding the bans. Furthermore, Valve could also announce the bans of the remaining Elite Wolves players, but Elite Wolves will try to appeal the decision. The duration of the bans is unclear, but previous Valve bans suggest that they will be for life. Were that to be the case, South American Dota 2 would be badly hurt for the foreseeable future, with some of their top players receiving bans from Valve events and likely other tournament organizers shortly after.

The ban comes as a response to accusations Elite Wolves intentionally threw a game in the ProDota Americas Cup #3 against Team Infamous to decide who would take third place and a chunk of prize money home. Community members noted that odds on betting sites for in-game items spiked sharply for the series right before it started, which was highly unusual. While some felt that there was decisive evidence of match fixing, Valve concluded to the manager of the ProDota Cup, Sam Manuelson, that the game in question was clear. The tournament paid out Team Infamous’ winnings.

The manager of Team Infamous, Vitoria “Guashineen” Otero confirmed to Slingshot that their current roster would not be banned by Valve in the upcoming announcement. Further word from the team’s other manager was that ztok had just been informed of his ban. “Los lobos también.”